More B.C. schools affected by functional closures due to Omicron

The first week of class for most students in B.C. under new Omicron protocols comes to a close Friday, with four schools temporarily shuttered due to functional closures.

While they make up a small percentage of the overall number of schools in B.C., there are still worries about what’s to come.

Two additional schools — École Heritage Park in Mission and Armstrong Elementary in the North Okanagan — were forced to close for the time being as of Friday morning. They join Hazelton Secondary School and Surrey’s Bibleway Academy in not being able to operate due to a shortage of staff.

Stephanie Higginson with the BC School Trustees Association feels that’s not bad, with student and staff attendance at schools across the province still at or just below normal.

“The other pinch point that we are seeing is around things like support staff and bus drivers, for instance. If a bus driver is sick and they’re not able to fill the position then there may be a cancelled bus route for the day, so we also need to be prepared as families for those possibilities as well,” she said.

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• Vancouver School Board asked to reconsider mandatory vaccines for staff

• Delta schools mandating COVID-19 vaccine for staff

Despite the challenges, Higginson says schools will do everything they can to maintain staffing levels.

“I think we may see staff returning to the classroom who haven’t been in the classroom for a while. We may see school principals teaching, which they do on a regular basis. We’re going to see maybe some non-enrolling teachers pulled around, which is unfortunate, because that interrupts student services, and we may even see some of our superintendents back in the classroom.”

Functional closures happen “when a school cannot adequately supervise or instruct children,” the Ministry of Education explains. This is possible when there are snow days, power outages, and even illness.

The ministry notes the decision to call a functional closure is made by schools or districts, based on need.

“With the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant, we have provided further direction to schools on extra precautions to support in-person learning,” the ministry says in a statement.

Demands for vaccine mandate in Vancouver

While it’s still early days after the return to in-class sessions post winter break, many are still calling for districts to bring in additional measures in the time of Omicron.

After the Delta school district’s move to bring in a proof of vaccination policy for all teachers and staff, advocates in Vancouver are now demanding the same.

Jody Polukoshko with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association says members have been pushing for similar measures for months.

“This pandemic’s not going away any time soon. We’re leading into the third school year where this has been happening and we would like to see the VSB taking leadership on this matter in the absence of government leadership, to take a reasonable, achievable step that would have support from the vast majority of school and community members,” she told CityNews.

“Given what’s been downloaded onto school districts, it’s a little bit predictable that some would be nervous about going ahead. But the majority of staff unions support this, and in fact the BCTF, CUPE, and BCPSEA, which is the employers’ organization, have agreed upon a protocol that districts could use to roll this out.”

Polukoshko believes a mandate would help keep students and staff safe, and could help ease anxiety for parents when it comes to sending their children to school.

Delta was the first, and remains the only, school district in Metro Vancouver to move forward with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for staff.

-With files from Greg Bowman, Lisa Steacy, and Martin MacMahon